Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 292, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 December 1918 — LETTERS AND EXTRACTS FROM LIEUT. W. I. SPITLER [ARTICLE]

LETTERS AND EXTRACTS FROM LIEUT. W. I. SPITLER

The following extracts from letters written by Second Lieutenant W. I. Spitler, who is at Archangel, Russia, will be of general interest to iris many friends back home: October 21, 1918. My dear Sister:— '

This game is the greatest in the world for making and breaking men. An ex-normal school prof.—you know the kind—slim, sallow and sanctimonious, who is a captain, has prove* himself the greatest driving force in our troops. He is now a “hard boiled” as they make them; curses at the top of iris voice,' drinks has rum and smokes 'his cigarettes (thank heaven, for the sake of his family, Russian peasant women are most unattractive). You may think him little of a m»n, being so radically'changed by conditions—but the courage of the man. 1 went into an attack with him the other monring. We had few troops, no support , and no knowledge of tfae situation, but we took a clearing containing several times as many of the enemy as we had troops and they were all in protected 'positions, without a casualty among our men, due solely to the very recklessness of the thing. It was the only way to save the situation, for we were so close we heard the enemy order given to pttack us.from the flanks. Without a moment’s hesitation he gave the order to charge. However, I don’t think either of us will ever forget a few minutes we spent behind a hay stack debating the situation. To withdraw would have been fatal but neither of us could see how we could go ahead, until we learned that another moment’s hesitation Would lose us all. When the place was taken and made safe for democracy (wouldn’t a Bolsihevic laugh at that?) there were some congratulations, but more sighs of relief. ♦ * * * * I have suffered few privations here —'have on the whole been well cared so have my men. lam well, and stronger than I ever dreamed of being. Wet feet, cold nights in the rain and lack of sleep have failed to give me so much as a cold.

Tell Fudgy (Delos Coen) to be sure and learn his close order drill. No adjutant should ever go into battle without knowing his battalion parade by heart. That he should go into battle without hesitation should occasion require, I know; I’ve learned a little something about men up here. I’ve seen the quiet kind face death without a tremor, and a famous barroom rough and tumble fighter inarticulate with fear. I’ve seen a sickly fellow who can hardly keep up with us walk a log over a stream under shell fire to bring ammunition te- my guns when the strongest man in the lot could only lie on the ground and duck his head at each explosion. These things have I seen, and this do I know, that courage is not 'based on What a man says or thinks, button the beliefs that he carries in hid innermpst soul and does NOT express to his fellows by anything but deeds. The haibits of the American soldier might seem deplorable to any one not in the army, but his philosophy is sound in almost every instance. * * * Your loving brother, WOOD. October 22, 1918.

My dear Sister: — I have a little while before going up ahead again, but after tonight expect to be relieved from front hne duty for a while at least. It is getting pretty coW for our wa,ter cooled guns. There is always something brewing in politics—-I know not what, but, if it gives my outfit relief, I don t care much what it is. Six weeks on the (front is more or less wearing—though I oan’t say we have suffered much. If ■there were no talk of relief, we could go on for another six weeks —but expecting relief, it would 'be a disappointment not to get it. Our headquarters, cook and sleeping quarters are in a train of box cars that follow in the rear of us. Some of our guns are always out front—sometimes all,-but only occasionally. We relieve the men up front from the strain frequently, but there is no relief of officers. At first I used to stay out front all of the time, but that was too much. Now, when our guns are snugly placed, I leave them in charge of a sergeant and come back to the cars for sleep. I always advance with the guns, and am within reach should anything arise requiring my presence. I have made a few hurried trips—one at 4 o’clock the other morning. I rode up to within a mile and a half of our emplacements and I was almost frozen when I got off the train. But it Was necessary for me to pass under shell fire to reach my place—so by the time I got there the sweat was rolling off of me. I would see the flash of their guns, duck behind a pile of ties until the shell had struck and beat it for the next tie pile. Once a shell struck jttst in front of my protection, so it was an absorbing game of tag. The worst of it was their artillery»ceased fire just after I had gone to all that trouble. They opened up again later and gave us the most effective shelling we have ever got. However, we are so weH dug in now, it is almost impossible to reach us with their fire. A barrage 'like that hould have been followed by infantry movement, but it was not. Probably they wanted to stop any movement on our part, for we had been driving them back for three days before. I have enjoyed your letters and the pictures of your boy. They may have I been a bit bad for my morale, inasmuch as they make me anxious to see the youngsters. However, my much

abused morale would suffer more from not hearing about them. It is now October 24, 1918. I quit in the middle of a sentence and want .to the front for a night, during which time nothing happened. Nextr day I brought all my men back, and have been enjoying a day of rest. I have had the men washing clothes, taking baths, and getting their teeth fixed. I have bathed and been assured by •the dental officer that I am not bothered with pyorhea (anyhow you know what I mean), my gums are healthy. News from “the western front is scarce, but the last we heard was good and suggested an early settlement What effect that would have on us here is hard to guess; hut it surely would help clear the situation. It is a bit hard for some of the men to Understand our position here, hut they are inclined to accept things as they are. Let me hear from you often and give my love to your family, with much for yourself. ; *• » Your loving brother, WOOD. Lt. W. I. Spitler, 339 Infantry, American North Russian Expeditionary Forces. “Elope.”